Metabolomics‐identified metabolites associated with body mass index and prospective weight gain among Mexican American women

• Published in: Obesity science & practice Vol. 2; no. 3; pp. 309 - 317
• Main Authors: Zhao, H., Shen, J., Djukovic, D., Daniel‐MacDougall, C., Gu, H., Wu, X., Chow, W. ‐H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2016; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Acetylcholine; Asparagine; Body mass index; Body mass index (BMI); Body weight gain; Chronic illnesses; Dietary fiber; Glutamic acid; Kynurenic acid; Leucine; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic pathways; Metabolites; Metabolomics; Mexican Americans; Molecular modelling; Obesity; Original; Serine; Smoking; Studies; Uric acid; weight gain; Mexican Americans; metabolites; Body mass index (BMI); weight gain
• ISSN: 2055-2238; 2055-2238
• DOI: 10.1002/osp4.63

Summary Objective Obesity is a metabolic disease. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms linking metabolic profiles and weight gain are largely unknown. Methods Here, we used semi‐targeted metabolomics to assay 156 metabolites selected from 25 key metabolic pathways in plasma samples from 300 non‐smoking healthy women identified from Mano‐A‐Mano, the Mexican American Cohort study. The study subjects were randomly divided into two cohorts: training (N = 200) and testing (N = 100) cohorts. Linear regression and Cox proportional hazard regression were used to assess the effect of body mass index (BMI) at baseline on metabolite levels and the effects of metabolites on significant weight gain during a 5‐year follow‐up. Results At baseline, we observed 7 metabolites significantly associated with BMI in both training and testing cohorts. They were Methyl succinate, Asparagine, Urate, Kynurenic acid, Glycine, Glutamic acid, and Serine. In further analysis, we identified 6 metabolites whose levels at baseline predicted significant weight gain during 5‐year follow‐up in both cohorts. They were Acetylcholine, Leucine, Hippuric acid, Acetylglycine, Urate, and Xanthine. Conclusions The findings establish the baseline metabolic profiles for BMI, and suggest new metabolic targets for researchers attempting to understand the molecular mechanisms of weight gain and obesity.